The Truck Parking Zone – June 2024

Despite an alarming trend of municipalities passing truck parking ordinances ranging from prohibiting residential parking to an all-encompassing parking ban, there is still positive news coming from several local, county and state governments.

May’s edition of The Parking Zone focused on the numerous actions taken by local governments across the nation that are exacerbating the truck parking crisis. For example, the San Antonio, Texas, city council will consider expanding its parking ban outside residential areas. Specifically, the city may prohibit truck parking on nonresidential streets between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., similar to Houston’s parking ordinance. As of press time in early May, the issue was not on the council’s agenda.

Meanwhile in College Station, Texas, the council narrowly passed (4-3) an ordinance essentially banning truck parking throughout the city. With the new law, College Station joins Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and possibly San Antonio in the list of Texas cities placing commercial vehicle parking restrictions outside residential areas.

When it comes to truck parking, in many parts of the country, it’s not all doom and gloom. Below are some examples of local and state governments adding truck parking to the infrastructure.

Florida county approves truck parking

While one Florida county faces a lawsuit for a truck parking ban, another Florida county is helping solve the parking shortage.

The Hillsborough County Transportation Planning Organization has approved a $5 million project that will add truck parking along Interstate 4. The new parking facility will include 120 spaces, six electric hookups and pedestrian infrastructure to access nearby commercial amenities.

Currently, there are only 90 public truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridor from Tampa to Daytona Beach. In addition to the 120 spaces, long-term plans for the facility leave room for an expansion of 250 more spaces in future phases. The parking facility is scheduled to open in Spring 2026.

Georgia county greenlights travel plaza

Moving up north just a bit in Georgia, the Butts County Board of Commissioners has paved the way for a new truck stop between Atlanta and Macon.

According to the Jackson Progress-Argus, Butts County commissioners approved of an amendment that will allow a travel center/truck stop to be built off state Highway 16, which is just a stone’s throw away from Interstate 75. Originally, only personal vehicles were to be serviced. However, the amendment allows the travel center to accommodate trucks.

Specifically, the amendment allows 10 diesel pumps, up from the originally agreed upon two diesel pumps. More importantly, updated plans include 65 truck parking spaces. A 26,000-square-foot storefront also will be available to travelers.

It appears the travel plaza has gone through every step of the process without any resistance.

Truck parking expansion in Texas

In the Lone Star state, the Texas Department of Transportation was given the green light to move forward with rest area expansion near Iowa Park.

Specifically, TxDOT will add truck parking spaces to the newly built facilities located off U.S. Highway 287 in the Wichita Falls metro area. More than $5 million will be used to add 10 parking spaces at the northbound rest area and 16 spaces on the southbound side, according to the Times Record News. That’s about $200,000 per spot!

New Love’s in the Midwest

 Love’s Travel Stops will begin construction of a new location in Wichita, Kan., KWCH reports.

Adding to its network of more than 600 locations, Love’s began building the new location in April. The Wichita truck stop will be located off Interstate 135 near 21st Street. The company expects it to open before the end of the year.

Although Love’s crossed the finish line on this truck stop, it was not due to a lack of opposition. The standard NIMBY arguments were presented to the city council: crime, pollution, traffic, etc. The council added language to address some of the concerns and continued to move forward. Thanks to that compromise, truckers will have 100 more truck parking spaces available in the I-35 corridor.

More truck parking in Southern California

A truck stop is being built in Mojave, Calif., adding truck parking spaces off the interstate system between Bakersfield and Los Angeles.

The Mojave Truck Stop will be located off U.S. Highway 58 and connected to the Mojave Land Port, which processes more than 3 million ship cargo containers each year. The truck stop anticipates serving more than 2,000 customers daily and selling nearly 15 million gallons of fuel annually.

This won’t be a small truck stop. More than 150 truck parking spaces will be included. Additionally, there will be 18 diesel lanes, truck maintenance services, electric truck charging stations, hydrogen fuel stations, 7,500 square feet of retail space, a business center, restrooms and shower and laundry facilities.

Minnesota funding truck parking projects

At the state level, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is setting aside millions of dollars to address its truck parking shortage.

MnDOT announced $81.5 million in funding to improve its statewide freight network, including several truck parking projects. Nearly $3 million will expand parking at the Interstate 94 Enfield rest area. Another $3 million will increase the number of parking spaces at the Interstate 94 Big Spunk Lake rest area.

Additionally, $550,000 will go toward a statewide truck parking information/management system replacement project, and $300,000 for an update to the statewide truck parking study. LL